The term human rights are defined by The Protection of human rights Act, 1993, which says that they are the rights relating to life, liberty, equality, and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution and enforceable by courts in India. These rights are important for the social development of the citizens of India. Despite India’s Tag of being the world’s largest sovereign, secular, democratic republic, Human rights in India is a complicated issue thanks to its widespread poverty lack of proper education, and the country’s large population. As far as human rights in India are concerned there are 5 basic rights recognized by the Indian Constitution.
The first one is the Right to equality. This right includes equality before the law, the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity and/or place of birth, equality of opportunity in matters of employment, the abolition of untouchability, and the abolition of titles. As far as Gender Equality is concerned women suffer from gender bias right from their childhood with India’s strong preference for their male counterparts. Once they grow up and into teens families think that investment in their daughter’s education is futile and refuse to give importance to it as much as they do for their sons. Discrimination against women since their early stages of life leads to the same at their workplace as well. Times are changing and even though women are given equal rights it’s not implemented quite well.
The second right is the right to freedom and expression. India has dropped two places on the global press freedom index. She is ranked 142nd out of 180 countries in the Annual Reporters without Borders analysis. With four journalists killed in connection with their work, India is touted to be one of the dangerous countries for journalists trying to do their job without any fears. Citizens’ right to freedom and expression is heavily restricted and are not able to speak their minds and criticize the government when they go wrong.
The next right recognized is the right against exploitation. It prohibits all forms of forced labor, child labor, and trafficking of human beings. India has been placed in the fourth position out of 167 countries in the global slavery index. Our policymakers cite the reason for the heavy population for the ranking but it is interesting to see China, the most populous country in the 40th position. Increased exploitation is due to the failure of India’s Law Enforcement Institutions. The country’s modern slaves are likely to only boom in the next 35 years due to job shortages. The situation will only get worse.
The next right is the right to freedom of religion which includes freedom of conscience and free profession, practice, and propagation of religion, freedom to manage religious affairs, freedom from certain taxes, and freedom from religious instructions in certain educational institutes. The two main political parties Congress and BJP have always been in a tussle. When we look at religious violence, communal conflicts between religious groups have not stopped. The next right is cultural and educational rights. The Constitution guarantees every single citizen of India both rights to education and cultures. The Constitution also provides special measures to protect the rights of minorities. Any community that has a language and a script of its own has the right to conserve and develop it. No citizen can be discriminated against for admission in the state or state-aided institutions. The Dalits are continued to be discriminated against in the spheres of education and jobs. When we look at all of this, we can no longer consider India as a “developing nation” because our “progress” is only said to be deteriorating despite our government’s efforts.
References:-
2. https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/india/#:~:text=Significant%20human%20rights%20issues%20included,government%20authorities%3B%20harsh%20and%20life%2D
Aishwarya Says:
I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.
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In the year 2021, we wrote about 1000 Inspirational Women In India, in the year 2022, we would be featuring 5000 Start Up Stories.